Confusing Days (Private, Mission)

She noticed the stance. Her claws would instinctively come out, although that's all it was. Instinct. Ikomiki never assumed a stance in response. Strong Fist wasn’t beaten into her enough for it to be a reactionary response she could do without thinking. She wouldn’t put any conscious effort into defending herself though. It was something Ikomiki had recognized earlier as a waste of time. She already knew he was stronger than she was, even if it hadn’t been directly proven to her like this, in such a direct and physical manner. The first kick would come faster than she would have been able to react anyway, even if she had been trying with all her might to defend herself. That proved more than anything that there wasn’t a point to it.

The next two would send her reeling. Her gut would nearly be sent into her mouth by the second kick, and then the third would send an immediate wave of blackness through her vision as the shockwave threw her brain around, bouncing it around inside her skull. This had been closer to what she was expecting from him from the beginning, even though these weren’t things she could consciously think of at the moment. Here mind had gone completely blank after the first kick, and especially with the sheer amount of pain she would just be completely able to process any sort of thought. The hell drop especially would be enough to almost make her vomit on the spot as it collided down to her, although instead she would be left gasping for air. She swore she could hear her ribs cracking on the impact, and certainly that was how it felt. He seemed to have specifically targeted the bruise on her ribcage and the already soft and sore skin around it.

She would be left unable to breath, the air knocked out of her lungs. Barely able to see, she would clutch at her chest. Pain screamed all throughout her body, although she wouldn’t be able to do much more than writhe and suffer. Screaming at this point was even beyond her without any air in her lungs.

Once he would begin spewing those same words again Ikomiki would finally look up at him, with that same poisonous glare as before. She wouldn’t be able to say anything in response still, only barely sputtering her first breaths of air in. Slowly she would scramble to her hands and knees, although it would take a while before she would be able to actually stand up. Especially with the way she flinched at any movement of her torso, it did seem as though one of her ribs might have been broken from all that punishment. Maybe more than one.

Once she finally was able to stand she would give the slightest nod of her head, although without looking him directly in the eyes. She knew from the beginning all of it had been lies.

Calling it lies, was pathetic in its own right. When one wasn’t willing to accept any answer other than the one you spouted, wasn’t willing to accept any other way, then what in the world did one expect? Hypocrisy at it’s finest ladies and gentlemen. But Shinsui wouldn’t care anymore, he’d teach her in her own way if that’s what it took. “Let’s go.” He would say before her began down the road again. As he left though, he’d stop and pick up the catnip bag. It had worked and she had in fact relaxed while under it’s effects. He’d simply have to control her better next time or put her in a room on her own. “The mission is simple enough, we’re to arrest, maim, or kill the bandits down the road ahead. That’s it, then we can head back to Kirigakure. Where you’ll proceed to the hospital to get those ribs looked at.” He would say as he strode down the road.

If she chose to give trouble, he would simply give a repeat performance. If it was her rules they had to play by, then he’d play by them with the best of them. He’d drag her out of her shell of hypocrisy, kicking and screaming if necessary.

She would follow behind him, three steps distance behind his heel. Part of that was to maintain her distance, and part of it was just because she was slightly limping. The fact that he was ordering her to engage in physical combat now was a bit troublesome, especially with the beating that he had just given her mere moments ago. It was a bit cruel. She wouldn’t respond though, voicing any complaints or otherwise. She wasn’t strong enough to hurt him, quick enough to dodge, or fast enough to run away. Right now she was hostage to his desires, which she had recognized earlier. There was nothing she could do. She would watch the manner in which he picked up the catnip though, her eyes narrowing again as they tracked his movements from behind. At the very least the hospital part was something that she was looking forward to. Even if she wasn’t the fondest of them normally, right now she felt like she wanted to curl up and die. Hopefully they would be able to finish with this… whatever he wanted sooner rather than later. She had no real interest in doing it, but had little choice now.

“I want you to do the best you can up ahead, even if it’s just as a distraction.” He would say as he began to see the shapes of men on the road ahead. These would be the bandits then. How quaint. As they moved into view he would count 18 of them. A simple enough fight for two people, hell it would be simple enough for him alone since he doubted they could hurt him either. Pissant bandits tended to not be the brightest bulbs of the bunch, or the strongest or most dangerous. “Oh yeah, you’re claws should tear these guys to ribbons, you just do your best.” He would say idly, the men clearly able to hear him as he spoke to Ikomiki and looking indignant at the two shinobi.

Shinsui would drop into his stance and prepare to launch his assault upon the first man. Without missing a beat, Shinsui would dash forward and slam one with a lateral kick. The entire movement would be much faster than normal and the resounding crack of someone neck audibly breaking could be heard. “I hate bandits, ever since fuckers like you killed my family. So I’m not gonna let any of you live, mmkay?” He’d say as he turned toward the rest of the group once more. He was about to make this shit hurt.

Leaf Great Flash 200/200

Easy for him to say. He didn’t just get the shit kicked out of him. Infact, with what she could tell of him, it was probably that he’s never had to experience that in his life. She couldn’t imagine that his skin toughened up through some sort of training, so it must have just been that he was born like that. Lucky. Every step she took was more and more of a confirmation that one of her ribs were broken. At least one. It was a feeling she recognized from the last time that it had happened. She did have an extra set of ribs compared to humans, as all cats did, but in this case rather than providing extra protection it just resulted in more ribs that could be potentially broken. She was able to continue walking with a stiff face, as she had when Doctor Naji attacked her, but fighting was a completely different story. She wasn’t strong either. Not like he was. All she had were her claws, and that would make it difficult to really engage in hand to hand combat when she was still having a difficult time breathing. Well, that wasn’t the only thing she had. But summoning anything right now was a poor decision. She didn’t have the sort of chakra to maintain them over long periods of time, and doing that just to kill some bandits would just result in her revealing a piece of information to this man that could potentially result in her secrets being discovered. Not something she wanted under any circumstances. It wasn’t like she really had a choice anymore though. Claws would have to do for now.

She could only imagine what it looked like under her dress now. That first ugly bruise she had gotten from Naji was likely joined by another fresh one from that last dropkick, and then likely something on her gut from the second kick. She couldn’t see her own face either, but with the blow that she took to the head she probably would have another hidden under her hair. Maybe the onset of a concussion as well. Treating this all would have to wait until her trip to the hospital later though. With another set of injuries though it would be a miracle if she would actually be able to participate in any sort of manner in the next portion of the exams.

She would watch as he killed the first one. Hearing his neck snap. She flinched a bit at the sound. It wasn’t that she was meek about death, but she couldn’t help but imagine the same happening to her. Her neck was suddenly sore now. She wouldn’t dare charge in, both to not dare get into his way and also due to the pain in her chest. Instead she would begin the formation of a variety of hand seals. She could at least do this.

Her hair would stream out, lengthening dramatically as chakra flowed into it. This was something she was fond of, even if she hadn’t practiced it in length before. It would collide quickly into the nearest bandit, and then a variety of spikes would erupt, skewering the man like a kebab. The corpse would be deposited afterwards, and now unfortunately her hair would be soaked with his blood, another uncomfortable element for her. She was already beginning to regret this.

[567/400 Training Lion’s Mane and Needle Hell]

The killing of one of the bandits with some kind of hair based ninjutsu was a sight he wouldn’t seen forget. It was interesting to see the rapid growth and sharpening of the ends. She had some rather curious techniques that we very much wanted to see more of. What would could she do in combat? For that matter, how long did this whole ‘her doing what he said’ thing last anyway? A day? Their next meeting? He didn’t know, but rather than ask he would simply choose to wait until it no longer seem to make a difference.

The training of ones physical body to handle multiple forms of pain and stress was something that he had done at an early age. It was something she could do too but he won’t just throw her on the path if that was where she intended to go. She would have to find it. One of the bandits tried to punch him across the jaw only for Shinsui to back up a step, have the punch miss, only for the long haired genin to spin in place to build momentum and smash his elbow into the man chest. The sound of splintering bone be could heard once more as the man clutched at his chest and fell over dead. “Three down, and so many more to go. Come now folks, is that all you can do? I’m getting bored.” He would say, mildly taunting the bandits that he hated so much as the fight went on.

Two more hand seals would be formed. The bandits they were fighting, for what they were worth, didn’t seem intent on just sitting back and being killed. Two of them got uncomfortably close up to Ikomiki, and as they did her hair would retreat. Rather than grabbing them and spiking them open as she had with the last one her mass of white hair would instead curl back around her own body, acting as a shield. Spikes would erupt from it, giving her the appearance of a spiky chestnut. The two who had charged her, armed with only simple clubs and knives, would stop themselves short of impaling themselves direct onto her hair. They weren’t that stupid, having seen how one of their own had just been impaled on it. The three of them would be at a standstill now, as all Ikomiki did was protect herself, and none of them seemed to be willing to attempt to crack through that armor of hair with their simple weaponry. Even though her face was still uncovered, and her legs, the fact that her hair could move just about as fast as they did didn’t make them eager to try and attack and of the uncovered bits. They would just sort of stare each other down, and this was fine for Ikomiki. While he had ordered her to help him with this killing, that didn’t mean she had to be proactive about it. Killing the first had been a show to prove that she at least tried, and now she could proceed to be as absolutely unhelpful as possible. It was a layer of her natural obstinacy that returned from earlier, showing that her spirit wasn’t truly broken.

Her narrowed eyes would glare towards the two adult men, both of which who were taller than she was. Both, already unsure of themselves, would make the correct decision and back away slowly. Seeing her turtle herself up like this encouraged them to change focus, and turn back to Shinsui, although they wouldn’t turn their backs on Ikomiki after seeing just then what she had been capable of. With the bandits retreating she would allow herself to stand comfortably snug in her hair armor, watching the battle on from the perspective of an onlooker.

[380/350 Training Needle Cloak and Focused Amplification(Non-Elemental)]

Turtling up in an armor of spiky hair was a wonderful idea every one. For Ikomiki, it gave her a layer of protection that she felt she needed. For the bandits it gave them a place to avoid in order to stop being killed by he hair. For Shinsui? Well, it gave him a place to kick the bandits. As the two began to back away slowly he would leap into a flying high kick, Dynamic Entry, and crash into the back of one of them, the force of the blow shoving the man into the spiky and very deadly hair. Once that was accomplished he would use the momentum of the bandits form when he kicked and spin in mid air and give a vicious kick the the second one, also prompting him to fall against her armor and skewer himself. Kunai would fly back them and he would place his body before hers, in case her hair armor wasn’t strong enough.

The knives were no where near enough damage to prompt a reaction from it. They simply bounced off of his skin, spinning away harmlessly to their target. Right up until he caught one and threw it into the chest of another bandit. The knife would embed itself into the mans chest and a gurgle of blood would escape as his throat before he too fell over death. His body weight pressing the knife through his body and causing it to point out of his back.

The kick would send one of the men flying into her cloak of armor, skewering him almost immediately. It would shock her a bit, especially considering she had done this specifically to encourage them to back away. The dead man that was now attached to her hair would have a good bit of momentum with him though from that kick, and so Ikomiki would nearly stumble down to fall on her ass from the impact. She hadn’t been hurt by it in the slightest thanks to her armor, but she still wasn’t the steadiest on her feet. The second one would do it though, knocking her to the ground. Her hair would retract after that, returning to its normal length, and Ikomiki would send a death glare over to Shinsui’s direction. Her teeth would be bared again, although it was only for a few moments as she scrambled back up to her feet.

The corpses would be pushed off her. With their blood on her like this she would unfortunately need to bathe, and wash her hair. Something she really wasn’t looking forward to. It meant she would need to find soap, or something along those lines. Disgusting. She hated it. Still scowling, she would dust herself off and stare down at the mess that had become of her dress.

The cat woman's armour of hair would retract and she would take stock of herself, sneering at her nearly ruined appearance. Shinsui himself would continue on his momentum. Moving through the group at average speed, however his power and endurance were more than enough to the task here. He would kick the legs out from another one and follow through with a brutal spinning kick straight to the man’s temple as he began to fall. He’d feel the impact of another knife as he hit him in the back but again, failed to do any kind of real damage.

Looking over at Ikomiki he would agree that her appearance was indeed ruined, dread torn and tattered, her hair an enormous bloody mess. She looked ridiculous. ‘Well there goes the idea of taking her out to lunch after this.’ He would think as he turned back to what he was doing. Which was hitting bandits so hard there bones cracked under the strain of his kicks while Ikomiki did whatever she wanted over yonder.

Despite having so much in common with wild animals, Ikomiki did care about her appearance quite a bit. It was why she bothered to wear a pretty dress like this, taking good care of it with a needle and thread. She had learned the most basic of sewing techniques just to be able to repair it. It was like her own little fur coat, one of the things that she lacked when it came to comparisons with other cats. Getting it so dirty and torn, along with the general state of her hair and body in general, was shameful. With all of this happening she just wanted to curl up and die. Becoming a shinobi was a mistake. She never should have done any of this. More than anything right now she wanted to scream, although that wouldn’t have done any good. Really, instead it probably would have been better if she had just never gotten back up.

Eventually she would run out of energy. All that anger and self-pity would exhaust her even more than she already was. Having used all that chakra just now didn’t help all too much either. Her eyes would return to the combat. She already knew how things would go down, but there was a part of her that hoped she was wrong. If only one of these bandits would get lucky, or somehow manage to be stronger than they looked, and would catch Shinsui by surprise. Maybe attack his eyes. Would his eyeballs be as tough as his skin? She wondered whether one could be plucked out, or if her claws would be able to penetrate into them unlike his skin. Maybe at some point she would be able to find out. The line of thought made her think about other potential weaknesses his body might have. His mouth. His nose. The inside of his ears. His genitalia? She really could only speculate, and trying and of these would likely just result in him killing for her for the trouble.

“Hurry up.” She would speak again, the first time since she had taken that beating. “Just kill them all and get it over with.”

“Well well, you have a voice after all.” He would say as he felt a few more knives try to rip into his ribs. They wouldn’t pierce the skin either and he’d tsk at the men who tried to throw them. Idly he’d pull out the ball of catnip from his pocket and throw it at her. “Here, relax a bit.” He would say as he tossed the bag. Before turning back to the men before them. “I’m not really willing to go all out on these guys, I’ll be too weak for the exams.” He would say before he cracked a rising high kick against the man’s jaw and sent him up into the air. He would appear under him as if he was the mans shadow before beginning a series of brutal kicks that ended with a heel drop to the chest just as the man hit the ground. Another resounding crack, the feeling of a shudder throughout the newly made corpse and then stillness. Standing back up he’d do a quick head count.

“10 left” He would say as he crossed his arms. “Can you guys even pierce my skin?” He’d ask as he stood there. He’d give them a few minutes to try to pierce him, or break him. Nothing these guys would do would work regardless. He wanted the over with in some ways but to be honest he was enjoying the sense of helplessness these men felt. It was similar to what he’d felt the day he’d watched and heard all of the woman in his village, his mother included, be raped and murdered. The anger would boil beneath his skin at the idea of men like this existing in the world and he’d snarl angrily at them. “Come them, see the hopeless and die with some dignity. That’s more than you give others.” He would say, his voice even as he spoke.

The look she gave him was about as angry as she could manage right now as he threw the catnip back over. Which, wasn’t all too angry, considering how exhausted she was at this point. She didn’t really have the energy to be angry anymore. Rather than continuing to stand and engage in combat, Ikomiki would allow herself to slowly drop to her knees, and then to her bottom onto the grass. She would just sit there defeated. There was no need for her to continue fighting. With her sitting like this and Shinsui tearing through the bandits it was clear who should be focused on. That, and he seemed to be able to handle all of them anyway. Him bringing her here to assist was never because he actually needed help, but just as a way to cement that he was stronger than she was. Similarly, she would recognize what he said about ‘being too weak for the exams’ if he went all out as a lie. It was impossible that it wasn’t a lie. Just another bit of boasting to rub it in.

She didn’t bother to say anything in response, even if she wanted to make some sort of angry comment to tell him to hurry again or to stop wasting her time. Especially with how he seemed angry now. Even if he wasn’t, there wasn’t any point. It would just be another waste of energy. Right now she was content with watching the fight, at least until her body would give out on her, which she could already feel the beginnings of.

He couldn’t use the only gate he could use thus far here, or his body would hate him for the exams. He’d be in a weakened state and he couldn’t afford that. So he’d sigh when the men before him failed to even act and decide that this was quite enough. So it wouldn’t come as a surprise when he moved into the group again and began to tear them apart. Chaining kicks to different areas together to not waste any of their momentum. Crushing bones into hearts, lungs, livers. Smacking a man’s skull against his ally and causing both to crack audibly. With the last one he’d do the same flying high kick and crush his throat, sending the man flying against a tree with a broken neck.

Then he’d turn toward Ikomiki and look her directly in the eye. “Need a few before we walk back?” He’d ask, his question neither condescending or rude. He was simply asking for her status. Should she not require it he would offer a hand, which she probably wouldn’t take. But he’d still offer regardless. He’d proven he was in fact stronger, but that didn’t mean her world was the only answer. He had no intention of being some sort of creepy, kitty, slave holder. “You’ll tell me why you hate humans so much.” He would say, regardless of if they started walking or not.

“My body is going to give out soon. I don’t have any energy left.” She would say after a moment of pause in response to his question. Her eyes were already drooping abit. The pain kept her awake, but at the same time she was feeling an urge to just fall asleep. With her likely concussion this was probably a poor idea, but at the same time she had no knowledge of what a concussion was. The idea of resting was thus appealing to her, with the except of the fact that Shinsui was still around. She wouldn’t be safe with him here. As far as she knew he had the potential to do all sorts of perverted, debased things while she was asleep. She had good reason to believe this too, based on his earlier behavior with her while she was under the influence of catnip. Really though, there was nothing she could do.

“It’s all the same, either way.” She wouldn’t take his hand, both on account of not wanting to touch him and that she couldn’t stand under her own power right now. Ikomiki would stay still in place, looking unwilling to actually get up. Hopefully he would leave, and then she would be able to pass out here without having to worry so much. At least, not to worry about anything other than vultures and crows, which she would likely become food for along with the rest of these bodies. Or worse, if some stranger came along the road while she was in that state. Really it was a lose-lose situation, and she was powerless to do much about it. As usual.

Shinsui would nod and without a word move to lift her up, bridal style. “It makes no sense for you to be left behind when I’m capable of carrying you.” He would say as he began down the road. Either way she wouldn’t really be able to stop him in her state. She might not forgive him for what he was doing but he didn’t really care at the end of the day as it was decision at this point. “You’ll live, and do what I told you to do, you’ll try to understand humans, and their nuances. You don’t have to like them. But you will learn to understand when someone is trying to cause offense and gain the patience required to let it roll off you.” He would say as he began to walk back to the village with her in his arms.

He would do his best to keep the trip as even and painless as possible. It was pointless to try to run, he wasn’t very fast anyway, yet. So they wouldn’t make their time any better and this would allow her to not be in excruciating pain. “I’ll take you to the hospital, where you’ll be treated and should be ready to go for the exams.” He would finish, moving down the road at a casual pace. He was no longer asking questions, but making statements. If his strength was the only thing she would respect and listen to for now, then that was what he would use under she could understand compassion and empathy.

She would immediately cringe in pain as she was picked up. The movement of her chest and back provoked her ribs, which she could swear she felt poking against her lungs now. A sharp breath would exhale out of her, and it would take a few seconds until she was able to breathe again. Her teeth would be clenched after that, both from the pain that each of his footsteps caused and the fact that she really really hated that he was touching her. That, and that he was telling her what to do. Although most of what he said was barely reaching her at this point. A slight mrowing sound of pain would come out from the catgirl every so often, every time Shinsui’s walking would jostle her in even the slightest amount. Ikomiki had retreated back into the corners of her mind otherwise, and this was pretty clear if he looked into her eyes. They were dull and unthinking, half unconscious and slow to react to any sort of stimulus. The way her pupils were dilated as well despite the earlier catnip having worn off would be another sign that she wasn’t quite at her best mentally any longer.

“Get…” She would barely get through the first syllable before finding herself unable to speak. It was no good. Her mouth would close shortly after, and she would resign herself to her fate. Her tail would hang limply down below her, and her ears would be stuck tight to her skull as he carried her.

He had made sure to pick back up the catnip as he picked her up and he set it against her chest so she would smell it as they walked. He figured it would work fairly well at keeping her mind off of her pain at the moment. “Get what?” He would ask, trying to provoke her to some level of her former strength. “I want powerful allies Ikomiki, if I have to beat you down to provoke that out of you then fine. But I am an ‘ally’ don’t forget that. What happened earlier ‘was’ an accident, whether you want to believe that or not. I’m going to see to you getting medical help, and you’re going to get better, and you’re going to get stronger, period. I don’t care how, we’ll train together if you want, but I’m not about to have a weak ally if I can help it you stubborn twit. Now be quiet and relax.” He would say his tone annoyed yet firm. He would need to learn a lot more to understand her, if they were to be anything other than enemies.

He wanted to be able to look back at this day and laugh at the stupidity of it. However he wasn’t sure he’d be able to. He simply didn’t know if what he did was truly that insulting or horrible. That’s why he needed her to tell him shit like that. Any offense wasn’t from malevolence, but from simply not knowing what was and was not alright. That was part of what he was trying to do. If he could get her to start telling him what was and wasn’t okay, that would be an important first step in communication with normal people ‘humans’ as she called them. She couldn’t rely on people to understand subtle signs of her body language. She needed to figure that out, and soon. Or these exams would tear her apart.

His stride would turn into a continuous, even, pace. With absolutely minimal jostling to the injured girl in his arms. She’d never forgive him for this, for saving her life? As odd it might sound, but he was certain she’d try to tear him apart next time she saw him if she could. Perhaps she’d get her chance in the second exams.

She was breathing heavily now, her eyes fluttering open and closed. Unable to speak or move, she wouldn’t be able to resist the fact that the catnip bag had been returned to her nose. It was the last humiliation. She would smell it, of course. It was impossible not to with it being so close, but it would be hard to tell if it had any effect on the injured and half-conscious catgirl. Her mind was already swimming in the dark, and while the presence of the catnip would make it swirl again there wasn’t any noticeable difference in her behavior, or her lack of behavior as she laid limply in his arms. Ikomiki had reduced to a state of mind where she wasn’t entirely sure what was happening. Even more so than normal. Whether that was from the catnip, the injuries she had sustained, or both was hard for her to tell. Sleepy and dull eyes would be fixated on the man that was holding her, unable to move away and look at anything else. That glazed over expressions would be painted onto her face, unmoving and stoic. She might have fallen asleep with her eyes open, and without any response from her it was hard to tell. Although she was still breathing, and her heart was still beating at the very least. She wasn’t dead, and likely wouldn’t die from this, even if she was left untreated by an official medical practitioner. Her descent into a non-respective state had come rather quickly though. It had only been a few minutes ago that she had been using her hair to kill those bandits, although it had likely been that in the first place that resulted in such an extreme response now. Despite her heritage, she had absolutely average reserves of stamina. Not that Shinsui would know this or be able to directly understand the context behind it, but it was one of the few things that she was able to think of in this state. How tired she was, and how little energy she had all together. It made her feel so small.

Shinsui would reach into his pouch, being very careful to not drop her and pull out a food pill before placing it to her mouth. “Eat.” He would say as he pressed to her lips. “It’ll restore you a bit” He would follow, hoping to keep her from passing out on him. Once that ended, for better or worse he would take the catnip bag away. He didn’t want to provoke a complete reaction like last time. Just do something to take her mind off of her pain. However that seemed to not work very well, so he removed it. Simple as that.

Sighing deeply he’d begin to speak, he didn’t know if she could hear him, or even be interested in anything. However he wasn’t a trained medical shinobi, he didn’t know if she could actually die if she fell unconscious like this. So he talked. “I keep wanting you to tell me about you, asking so many questions. But it’s hardly fair is it? I haven’t really told you a thing about me.” He would begin, lining his thoughts up before deciding that if he wanted her to tell him what was it that made humans so horrid to her. That he should tell her why he hated bandits and other such brigands to the point of sadistic glee when he killed them.

“My original home was destroyed. I come from the borders of the Land of Rivers, and the Land of Wind. I’m from a simple farm village. We were prosperous, never having any issues with growing food and shipping it. It was a good life from the scraps of memory I can remember. See, bandits attacked the town when I was a very young boy. They slaughtered my father, and I hid in my mother’s closet, too young to do anything. Eventually those bandits gathered the women and took turns raping them in my mothers room, including my mother. They never found me, I guess they figured nothing of value or practical use would be a farm wives closet. Eventually they left. I hadn’t eaten, or even slept in days. I was found, and brought to Konoha. Where I was adopted and given a name. As I was too young to know my real one. ‘Shinsui’ is that name, but I wasn’t allowed their surname. I was to prove myself before they would give me that. Something I had failed to do. Eventually they disowned me, for I was ‘too weak’ to bring them any kind of respect. I’ve trained ever since, putting my body through tortuous effort to increase my capabilities. I gained permission from the Hokage to learn a restricted technique from the village, but it drains me so badly afterwards, that I’m little more than a husk for a time. So I have to train my body so that’s effects won’t be so severe. I’ve been working on it for years, but I’ve shed blood, sweat, and tears, for every bit of the meager strength I have.” He would finish, his history done before turning his eyes toward hers to see if they were open. If they were he would maintain eye contact. If they weren’t, he’d go back to watching the road anyway.

“I want to try to make sure my allies aren’t so weak. I want to help them and stand with them when they need my help. I consider anyone from Konoha my ally, and that includes you. Already you’re stronger than I was when I began my training. You have far more potential than I do, but if the only way to bring that out of you is by beating you down. I will, for the sake of my home, I will. You can sit there and say I do it to get what I want out of you. You might even be right, because what I want is for those I would protect to be able to protect themselves and our home. So before you go off on me and screech and cry at me because ‘What I’m doing doesn’t make sense’ admit to yourself that you understand us about as little as I understand you, and put forth some effort rather than hiding in your metaphorical corner and bitching.” He would finish, his talking over as they reached the village gates. He would begin to move toward the hospital now, intent upon seeking her medical help.

The foodpill would fall into her mouth. She was already breathing with her mouth without really being able to help it, and so it would enter without any resistance. Ikomiki wouldn’t even notice it until it hit the back of her throat, which would provoke an immediate coughing. She wasn’t the most familiar with pills, really only knowing about chakra pills from her trip to the market the day before, and so this would be the first time that one would enter her mouth. Almost mistaking it for a rock in her dazed state she would attempt to spit it out, although Ikomiki wouldn’t get nearly that far. A few moments would go on where she would alternate between weakly coughing and struggling to breathe, until the pill would finally find itself settling down her throat and into her stomach. The temporary choking would do a bit to rouse her from her dazed state, considering it activated what little energy she had left in a mental panic. Her eyes would scramble around, desperately flashing to scan everything she could see. It would be worthless though, as the only things she could see would be the sun, the sky, and his face. It was all blinding.

What was even worse was that he started talking again. She had almost been glad that she was falling into unconsciousness before just so she wouldn’t have to hear him any more, but it seemed that some cruel twist of fate had dragged her back into this hell. The realization would cause her to tense up and bite her own lip. Immediately it would start bleeding from the force of her teeth, and she would find herself tasting her own blood. It had a sharp, metallic sort of taste that she wasn’t used to. Warm too. For some reason it felt so much warmer than her mouth.

“I don’t care.” She would finally speak. Her voice was hoarse and soft. Barely a whisper. “I don’t want to hear about you. I don’t want to understand you.” She wanted to say that she’d kill him, one day, but the idea of doing so was too much. Ikomiki was still afraid, and so it would only be something she would think. It was a sharp and harsh refutation to his life story, which he had just shared with her unprompted, but what else could she say other than the truth? There was more that she would say, but it would be unintelligible. Just mere mumblings against her lips that wouldn’t properly reach his ears.

He would shrug “I know, but I’m not a medic shinobi, so I don’t know what to do except try to keep you awake for fear of you falling unconscious and not waking up. I couldn’t think of anything else to do but talk, since it seems to bother you so much.” He would say, he was starting to not give a good goddamn about this woman. He would do his duty and take her to the hospital. Or should he be taking her to a vet? He wasn’t sure and they could figure it the hell out there. He moved through the village with her, onlookers stopping to glance before realizing he was taking her to the one place it was okay to take pretty unconscious girls. Eventually they’d reach that destination. The hospital of Kirigakure no Sato. Walking in he’d be seen and immediately a couple of orderlies and nurses would bring a gurney along to lay her on.

“Who can we contact on her behalf?” One would ask, while shining a small light in her eyes to check for clarity. “I don’t know, and I don’t care.” Shinsui would say, prompting them to look at him for a moment. “Just take care of her and send her on her way.” He would say before he turned and walked away. He didn’t give a shit what happened to her now, even at the end, when she was broken, bruised, out of chakra, she was still nothing more than a self righteous little twist. He didn’t need that as an ally, not until she changed, and if she tried to attack him in an attempt to best him, he’d simply beat her down, and move along. ‘Just not worth the effort if she won’t even try.’ He’d think as he went to his hotel room to prepare for the exams.

Exit
(36 total posts)

She had already fallen into unconsciousness again by the time they had both reached the hospital. The way she stuttered back into mumbles that couldn’t be heard was an early sign of her slow decline. Although it would be hard to tell what happened of her mental state, as she reduced into this without her eyes closing. They would be left with that dull and glossy look, where they were still open but couldn’t see anything. By the time that she had been dumped into the hospital she would be stuck in this state, in this dreamless sleep. The light that would be shined down into her eyes wouldn’t provoke an initial reaction, something that was incredibly worrying for the doctors that had taken her into their care. That, and her general biology. While those with kekkei genkai ended up with different biological make ups that could make medical procedures difficult, Ikomiki had a bone structure that was entirely different to what they would be used to. Despite it’s obvious humanoid appearance there were direct similarities to that of a cat, including the spinal column continuing into the tail and her extra set of ribs. It would stump them initially, and make her initial care difficult.

Six hours later Ikomiki would slowly awaken in one of Kirigakure’s hospital beds. There would be a variety of bandages around her head, along with covering her chest, which she would slowly notice just through the weight she could feel against her body. As her energy came back to her she would slowly shift, attempting to stand.

There was one more day until the survival exams started. She already could tell they would be hell.

[Exit]